With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2023-24 season schedule being released a few days ago, fans are rightfully looking forward to the Wine and Gold’s next campaign.
This is a team that got better in the offseason, and looks to be on the verge of contention. They’ll have to prove it, but they should be better equipped for a deep postseason run in 2024, with how addressed their shooting needs in free agency, and should have more playable depth. There’s no excuse for this team to not be a contender next year, really.
The Wine and Gold are too talented to not compete in the Eastern Conference. Even with their last playoff failure, this club should benefit from that experience, and they’re better off.
So with that in mind, then, which Cavs players aside from Donovan Mitchell, who should be locked and loaded (and ready to rebound from that disappointing playoff series), should be ready to start fast this next season?
Three Cavs players aside from Mitchell clearly should be in line to fit that bill.
The first non-Mitchell Cav who should be ready to roll is the club’s catalyst.
No. 1: Darius Garland
Darius Garland‘s numbers did dip slightly from his breakout third season, as Garland’s scoring splits dropped a tad bit to 21.6 points per game, and his assists clip decreased to 7.8. Although with the arrival of Donovan Mitchell last offseason by way of trade, Garland did plenty fine.
Garland did not make the All-Star Game last season, after getting first All-Star bid in 2022, but he did still play very well for the most part.
Granted, Garland, similarly to a number of other Cavaliers, did not have the best playoffs. In his first playoff series, he was up-and-down, and the higher-seeded Cavs were bounced in five games by the New York Knicks.
On the plus side, heading into next season, Garland should be better off it seems, as more time with Mitchell, Evan Mobley and others should pay off, and shooters such as Max Strus and Georges Niang should improve Cleveland’s spacing.
As he settles into his fifth year in the Association, a multifaceted scorer, shooter and playmaker in Garland seems poised to start off next season really well, with improvements around him, and hopefully another productive offseason.
This is contingent on Garland being healthy, of course; last season, an eye injury in the season opener at the Toronto Raptors last season caused the beginning of his past season to be somewhat uneven, given that ailment. If Garland doesn’t have something fluky injury-wise occur, he should ready to roll.